Washington– WASHINGTON (AP) — Soldiers and airmen got into the back of the black pickup truck, armed themselves — with black trash bags and red-handled garbage picks — and headed to the park surrounding the recreation center.
For a National Guard unit deployed to Washington, D.C., this marked the 119th beautification project since the unit was recalled in August as part of President Donald Trump’s plan. Federal law enforcement intervention. Their work has included cleaning up graffiti in public parks, collecting litter, and renovating a leisure centre. There are plans to help a school reading program in an often overlooked area of the city.
Hundreds of National Guard troops It is still widespread in the city — sometimes armed — have alarmed some residents, who see them as a manifestation of the president’s overreach in law enforcement. While there is deep mistrust about the motives for the mass deployment, others view the IRGC in Washington, and especially its local contingent’s focus on community improvement efforts, with some degree of approval.
“I’m happy to help,” said Saber Abdul, 68, a resident who regularly cleans up trash and debris in the park surrounding the Fort Stevens Recreation Center in northwest D.C. “They have lives, but now they are here to help us.”
Mixed feelings about the Guard deployment have forced local officials to balance opposition to what they see as a blatant violation of the city’s already limited autonomy and recognition that the region could at least use the help provided by the D.C. National Guard Division.
A lawsuit was filed by the D.C. Attorney General The posting challenge — part of a wave of legal action in multiple cities facing their own federal law enforcement interventions — will be heard Friday.
Hundreds of National Guard troops have been in Washington, D.C., since Trump issued the emergency order in August, triggering what he said was… Crime fighting mission This also included the federal takeover of the local police department. The command It ended last monthBut nearly 2,000 National Guard troops from D.C. and eight states remain in the city, with most units saying they plan to withdraw by the end of November.
The troops have become a fixture in the city, patrolling subway stations and neighborhoods and supporting other federal law enforcement agencies in operations that have led to hundreds of arrests and sparked fear in many communities, especially among immigrants. Trump, a Republican, praised the campaign as reducing crime rates, which were already declining.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat whose city budget and laws are set by Congress, did just that He walked a fine line Between appeasing Trump and backing off the deployment of forces. She acknowledged that the campaign helped reduce crime, while arguing that deploying the National Guard outside the state was not an “effective use of those resources.”
In a recent brief filed in the D.C. legal case, Attorney General Brian Schwalb said Guard units operate as a “federal military police force.” The document also noted that there are plans for the Metropolitan Guard to remain in the city at least until next summer.
For some, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
In Ward 8, which is in Historic but deprived area In the area east of the Anacostia River, local officials have embraced the D.C. Guard’s call to help improve the community despite their overall opposition to the presence of armed National Guard troops in the city.
Neighborhood Advisory Committee member Joseph Johnson said troops from the local Guard unit have gone to his ward several times, “to help where we need help,” including cleaning up around the school, as well as several areas in the Anacostia neighborhood. Community members saw, “These are people just like them. And for the most part, they live here in our communities.”
Local officials debated whether the assistance provided by the local unit could be separated from the Trump administration’s increasing threats to use uniformed forces on the streets of American cities. Some are zero tolerance, worrying that supporting even the local Guard’s beautification efforts could be seen as an implicit endorsement of Trump’s use of federal troops in support of law enforcement activities.
“Trump is testing the system to see how far he can really go,” Johnson said.
The interim commanding officer of the Capital Guard, Brig. General Leland Blanchard II.
The deployment will continue “until the president decides it’s time for us to do something different,” Blanchard said.
“We definitely want to continue the partnership with our city and our people here in the District of Columbia,” he told The Associated Press.
In the diverse neighborhood of Shepherd Park, news of the Guard’s arrival for cleanup efforts sparked a firestorm of dissent in community social media groups. Ward Commissioner Paula Edwards had to clarify that no local official had invited them.
“We feel like their presence is intimidating to many of our constituents,” Edwards said in an interview. She said that the situation is complicated because the guards are carrying out orders. She also said D.C. Guard members stand out from other state units because they understand the nuances and character of the city. She said public attitudes in her community ranged from “letting the troops clean the park” to some seeking to shame them.
Edwards said she would be happy to see the Guard there under different circumstances, but “only after this deployment is over.”
Valencia Muhammad, who leads the local tenants’ association, said she contacted the Guard to ask for help with the cleanup. She simply wanted the park to be clean, including potentially dangerous items that could harm children. Muhammad, 74, said she usually cleans the garden with other elderly people.
She said she believes local officials oppose the Guard’s cleanup efforts because they “don’t want to appear to support any efforts Trump makes, even if they are beneficial to the community.”
“I just wanted to beautify our park, which is something none of the commissioners have done,” she said.
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